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I grabbed that .pdf, Tom gives you a panel layout on page 16 so that defines the direction to run the grain. Both of us guessed wrong on the two panels making up the leading edge, Tom has them laid out so no edge runs on the grain and everything is cut on 'the bias'. I don't know his reasoning behind that or if he has just attempted to make the best use of the fabric with as little waste as possible. I prefer my way but I wouldn't argue with Sugarbaker's alternative, it has it's own advantages.

It will provide a bit more billow along the leading edge, which will give it a more aerodynamicly efficient shape. The transfer XTZ did this with a more stretchy fabric just along the LE.On some kites that negatively affects tricking, but it does create a more airfoiled shape.

John, I can provide an answer when I get home tomorrow (regarding the spine seam of the kite). The answer is longer than I care to type out using my phone, so stay tuned for another post tonight or tomorrow morning.

Regarding the center seam on Le Quartz - On the plan from C. Derefat's, the solid line at the left of the plan (and completely surrounding the sail) represents where the right side of the kite will lay when placed flat on the plan (we'll assume for purpose of explination that the right side of your kite is taped to the plan in precision alignment with the lines). If you hold a straight edge along the entire spine, you'll notice that the line is straight from nose to tail. (This is different than the B'zar that I am documenting, so we'll get to that technique later.).

Just to the right of the solid line representing the edge of the right half, there is a dashed line that is approx 8mm away, running parallel from nose to tail. This represents where the left half of the kite would meet the right if the left half of the sail is layed flat on the plan (in it's proper orientation, so the majority of it will lay off of to the left of the paper plan). You are welcome to have a straight spine, in which case you would glue (the entire seam at once) and sew the spine at this point (which may be the easiest for your first build but may require a slightly longer spar for the spine).

Now, There is an additional dashed line that runs from the center T to the tail of the kite at an angle. In order to have a curved spine as most of C. Derefat's kites do, this represents where the left portion of the sail will meet the right if you want a curved spine. (DO NOT CUT ANY MATERIAL OFF OF THE SAIL FOR THIS TECHNIQUE). Now, regarding Step 5 on Tom's site. The reason you wait for the glue to dry on the upper portion of the spine is: If you try to glue below the center T before the glue is dry, the fact that you have to slide the halves of the sail further across one another at the bottom, the tension could misplace the seam above. Now, you could use tape and glue the whole thing at once, but make sure you really reinforce the area around the center T. Because the halves overlap, the true center of the kite would actually not be represented by a line on the plan, but fall exactly between the solid and the dashed lines of the seam.

After you glue the seam, the sail will no longer lay flat on a surface, as you have created a billowed sail.

Thank you so much. I was imagining the two halves of the sail glued together at the spine, right side face up and left side face down, sewn, then opened and reinforced. Also I had decided that maybe the plan interpretation was spine dotted lines (straight ) as the center of the kite, so that would be twice the overlap of your explanation. That then left nothing at all that made sense for the curved dotted line. your explanation makes perfect sense and I truly appreciate it. I have cut and glued up the two halves. Now to see how I do with sewingThanks again,John

I definitely recommend sewing some scrap material... or a lot of it! make sure you're happy with your tension settings. Also note that "going slow" is ok, but you should concentrate more on "going smoothly". If slow is what it takes for you to be smooth, that's fine. A good machine will feed evenly on it's own, so all you should be doing is guiding the material into the feed dogs and making small corrections as you go.

If your machine has a "needle down" stop position, I highly recommend this for any points that you need to turn a corner. It won't be as crucial when sailing the individual panels, but later when you stitch reinforcements at the standoffs, the tail and the nose, you'll be pleased that you are used to the needle down position.

Anyway, I'm glad the explanation helped and will be anxious to see the results of your hard work!

On the plans that I printed up from Derefat's site the dotted line is 4mm from the solid line. So I think the dotted line represents the center of the kite. I drew another line 4mm on the right side of the dottet line to help line up the 2 halves.

Should look something like this, 2 halves aren't glued here yet just put them together to see what it was going to look like.

Untitled is right, looking at the plans from C. Derefat's website the dashed line is only 4mm off and represents the center line.

If using the plans from Tom's build site it is as I described in my lengthy post. Sorry for the confusion John!

Because the dashed line on the plans at C. Derefat's website represent the center, you can glue up the center seam as described in the B'zar thread (with the left and right panels laying on top of each other). Then, instead of stitching the straight stitch 8mm from the edge like the B'zar, stitch it along the dashed line representing the center of the kite (which I would draw straight on the back of the fabric for ease of sewing).

you got it. glue the seam with halves face to face. then stitch the seam exactly on the dashed line from tip to center T. Then follow the the dashed line that continues from the center T at a gentle angle away from the tip. Once you've stitched the straight stitch, fold the material over to one side, open the sail (so left and right are no longer face to face) and use a zig zag (or 3 step zig zag) to sew down the flap. it will only be a 4mm flap, so I would use a plane zig zag stitch. Remember that the straight stitch will then represent the exact center of the kite.

Well , I have finished and flown my first kite build. If my internet will cooperate, I*'ll post a picture. I learned a tremendous amount , having never sewn or built a kite ( there will be no closeups of the stitching). I've really enjoyed flying it. Being a beginner I can only compare it to an HQ E motion and an HQ Session 1.1. It really flies nothing like either one. It is quite easy to stall, for that matter I pulled it right out of the air several times, without meaning to. It doesn't turn as quickly as the Emotion, but is easier to hold level in a stall. Seems to take off better when I want it to also. I tried our moderators method of including the sail tensioning cord into the leading edge and determined that he must have at least three and maybe four hands. He ( without glueing) holds the sail into the crease of the leading edge while simultaneous inserting the tensioning line, while also guiding the fabric and starting the machine to sew. I, having only two hands found it totally impossible. I glued as best I could and sewed. First day flying , I managed to put one standoff through the trailing edge where it joined. I went back and reinforced the sail at the standoffs with dacron. I don't think I'll use mylar for that again. Anyway , thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement. Can't wait to make another.John

well done! and congratulations! It looks splendid... I appreciate your color layout and glad you're excited for your next build. You will only get better, and start discovering new ways to do things. Combining techniques and styles that you like will make your kites unique. Keep us posted on your future builds. Thanks for sharing.

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